I don't know what browser this speed test was ever accurate on, if any. The test payload is actually a commented out block of ASCII garbage in the HTML, around which is some JavaScript metering. It assumes that the browser is going to execute the script blocks as it's downloading the document... now, I'm no expert on how browsers load and execute HTML documents, but I think one would find that the whole document is downloaded first, and then parsed and executed (script code run, images downloaded, etc.). Since the ASCII block has already been downloaded, the speed test is actually timing bugger all, except maybe parsing the commented block as a comment. Oddly, the 500 kB payload is unicode with regular linefeeds, while the 1 MB payload is ASCII with no linefeeds.
Was semi-surprised to find that Telecom still have this joke of a speed test on their website... if you want an accurate speed test (at least for national sites), go to speedtest.net.
I dont trust speedtest.net since their remake.... seems to give me false readings for my work servers. I jsut do the good old "download a service pack from microsoft.com" test and if its slower than 800k I know somethings wrong :)
Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand
The telecom speedtest has always provided a basic guide and worked on every browser I tried it on. I suspect they still use it because its completley branded for them, and doesnt show the upload speed which people who dont know what the A stands for in ADSL would get worried about
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